Technologies for providing dynamic selection of edge and local accelerator resources

ABSTRACT

Technologies for providing dynamic selection of edge and local accelerator resources includes a device having circuitry to identify a function of an application to be accelerated, determine one or more properties of an accelerator resource available at the edge of a network where the device is located, and determine one or more properties of an accelerator resource available in the device. Additionally, the circuitry is to determine a set of acceleration selection factors associated with the function, wherein the acceleration factors are indicative of one or more objectives to be satisfied in the acceleration of the function. Further, the circuitry is to select, as a function of the one or more properties of the accelerator resource available at the edge, the one or more properties of the accelerator resource available in the device, and the acceleration selection factors, one or more of the accelerator resources to accelerate the function.

BACKGROUND

In an application executed by a compute device, certain functions maybenefit from being executed by an accelerator device (e.g., any devicecapable of executing a set of operations faster than the general purposeprocessor) because a general purpose processor may be unable to executethe function fast enough for the results of the function to be usable(e.g., to identify a pedestrian in a street and stop a vehicle). Often,a compute device is equipped with one or more accelerator devices toaccelerate such functions. However, due to changing circumstances of thecompute device (e.g., depletion of the battery), in may be infeasible toutilize an accelerator device present in the compute device (e.g.,because the accelerator device is not as power efficient as the generalpurpose processor).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The concepts described herein are illustrated by way of example and notby way of limitation in the accompanying figures. For simplicity andclarity of illustration, elements illustrated in the figures are notnecessarily drawn to scale. Where considered appropriate, referencelabels have been repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding oranalogous elements.

FIG. 1 is a simplified diagram of at least one embodiment of a systemfor providing dynamic selection of edge and local accelerator resources;

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of at least one embodiment of aclient compute device included in the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3-5 are a simplified block diagram of at least one embodiment of amethod for providing dynamic selection of edge and local acceleratorresources that may be performed by a client compute device of FIG. 1;and

FIG. 6 is a simplified block diagram of a fog and mobile edge computing(MEC) network topology that may be utilized with the system of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

While the concepts of the present disclosure are susceptible to variousmodifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof havebeen shown by way of example in the drawings and will be describedherein in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is nointent to limit the concepts of the present disclosure to the particularforms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover allmodifications, equivalents, and alternatives consistent with the presentdisclosure and the appended claims.

References in the specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,”“an illustrative embodiment,” etc., indicate that the embodimentdescribed may include a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic, but every embodiment may or may not necessarily includethat particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, suchphrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further,when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described inconnection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within theknowledge of one skilled in the art to effect such feature, structure,or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or notexplicitly described. Additionally, it should be appreciated that itemsincluded in a list in the form of “at least one A, B, and C” can mean(A); (B); (C); (A and B); (A and C); (B and C); or (A, B, and C).Similarly, items listed in the form of “at least one of A, B, or C” canmean (A); (B); (C); (A and B); (A and C); (B and C); or (A, B, and C).

The disclosed embodiments may be implemented, in some cases, inhardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. The disclosedembodiments may also be implemented as instructions carried by or storedon a transitory or non-transitory machine-readable (e.g.,computer-readable) storage medium, which may be read and executed by oneor more processors. Furthermore, the disclosed embodiments may beinitially encoded as a set of preliminary instructions (e.g., encoded ona machine-readable storage medium) that may require preliminaryprocessing operations to prepare the instructions for execution on adestination device. The preliminary processing may include combining theinstructions with data present on a device, translating the instructionsto a different format, performing compression, decompression,encryption, and/or decryption, combining multiple files that includedifferent sections of the instructions, integrating the instructionswith other code present on a device, such as a library, an operatingsystem, etc., or similar operations. The preliminary processing may beperformed by the source compute device (e.g., the device that is to sendthe instructions), the destination compute device (e.g., the device thatis to execute the instructions), or an intermediary device. Amachine-readable storage medium may be embodied as any storage device,mechanism, or other physical structure for storing or transmittinginformation in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a volatile ornon-volatile memory, a media disc, or other media device).

In the drawings, some structural or method features may be shown inspecific arrangements and/or orderings. However, it should beappreciated that such specific arrangements and/or orderings may not berequired. Rather, in some embodiments, such features may be arranged ina different manner and/or order than shown in the illustrative figures.Additionally, the inclusion of a structural or method feature in aparticular figure is not meant to imply that such feature is required inall embodiments and, in some embodiments, may not be included or may becombined with other features.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a system 100 for providing dynamic selection ofedge and local accelerator resources to accelerate one or more functionsincludes a client compute device 110 in communication with an edgegateway device 130. The edge gateway device 130 may be embodied as anydevice capable of communicating data between the client compute device110 and one or more edge resources 150, 152, 154 (e.g., resources, suchas compute devices and the components thereof (e.g., acceleratordevices) 160, 162, 164, 166, 168, 170, owned and/or operated by one ormore service providers, such as cellular network operators) or othercompute devices located in a cloud. Further, the edge gateway device130, in the illustrative embodiment, is configured to receive andrespond to requests (e.g., queries) from the client compute device 110for a list of available accelerator resources (e.g., acceleratordevices) and properties of those accelerator resources, such aslatencies, power usage, costs for using the accelerator resources, andsecurity features associated with the accelerator resources. The edgegateway device 130 and the edge resources 150, 152, 154, in theillustrative embodiment, are positioned at one or more locations (e.g.,in small cell(s), base station(s), etc.) along the edge (e.g., in anedge network) of a cloud.

An edge network may be embodied as any type of network that providesedge computing and/or storage resources which are proximately located toradio access network (RAN) capable endpoint devices (e.g., mobilecomputing devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, smart devices,etc.). In other words, the edge network is located at an “edge” betweenthe endpoint devices and traditional mobile network access points thatserves as an ingress point into service provider core networks,including carrier networks (e.g., Global System for MobileCommunications (GSM) networks, Long-Term Evolution (LTE) networks, 5Gnetworks, etc.), while also providing storage and/or computecapabilities. Accordingly, the edge network can provide a radio accessinterface to enterprise applications (e.g., housed in a remote cloud,data center, etc.) and/or other network-based services, as well as bringstorage/compute resources closer to the endpoint devices. As somecomputations/processing can be performed at the edge networks,efficiencies such as reduced latency, bandwidth, etc., can be realized(i.e., relative to such computations/processing being performed at aremote cloud, data center, etc.). Depending on the intendedpurpose/capabilities of the edge network, the edge network may includeone or more edge computing devices, which may include one or moregateways, servers, mobile edge computing (MEC) appliances, etc. Itshould be appreciated that, in some embodiments, the edge network mayform a portion of or otherwise provide an ingress point into a fognetwork (e.g., fog nodes 180), which may be embodied as a system-levelhorizontal architecture that distributes resources and services ofcomputing, storage, control and networking anywhere between a core datacenter 190 (e.g., a data center that is further away from and in ahigher level of a hierarchy of the system 100 than the edge resources150, 152, 154, and that includes multiple compute devices capable ofexecuting one or more services (e.g., processes on behalf of one or moreclients)) and an endpoint device (e.g., the client compute device 110).

As discussed in more detail herein, the client compute device 110, inoperation, executes an application 114 (e.g., using a processor and/oraccelerator device(s)) included in the client compute device 110. Theapplication 114 includes multiple functions 116, some of which maybenefit from acceleration (e.g., to provide a result within a timeperiod that would be difficult to satisfy if the function were executedby the general purpose processor). Further, in the illustrativeembodiment, the client compute device 110 includes an accelerationselection logic unit 112, which may be embodied as any device orcircuitry (e.g., a processor, an application specific integrated circuit(ASIC), reconfigurable circuitry, etc.) configured to determine theavailable accelerator resources at the edge and properties of thoseaccelerator resources (e.g., by querying the edge gateway device 130),determine corresponding properties of any accelerator resources presentin the client compute device 110, compare the properties of theaccelerator resource at the edge and those local to the client computedevice 110 to a set of acceleration selection factors (e.g., objectivesto be satisfied in the acceleration of the function), and select, basedon the comparison, one or more accelerator resources (e.g., at the edgeor included in the client compute device 110) to accelerate (e.g.,execute) the function (e.g., to provide the greatest degree ofsatisfaction of the acceleration selection factors).

Referring now to FIG. 2, the illustrative client compute device 110includes a compute engine (also referred to herein as “compute enginecircuitry”) 210, an input/output (I/O) subsystem 216, communicationcircuitry 218, and one or more data storage devices 222. As describedherein, the client compute device 110 may also include one or moreaccelerator devices 224. Of course, in other embodiments, the clientcompute device 110 may include other or additional components, such asthose commonly found in a computer (e.g., a display, peripheral devices,etc.). Additionally, in some embodiments, one or more of theillustrative components may be incorporated in, or otherwise form aportion of, another component. The compute engine 210 may be embodied asany type of device or collection of devices capable of performingvarious compute functions described below. In some embodiments, thecompute engine 210 may be embodied as a single device such as anintegrated circuit, an embedded system, a field-programmable gate array(FPGA), a system-on-a-chip (SOC), or other integrated system or device.In the illustrative embodiment, the compute engine 210 includes or isembodied as a processor 212, a memory 214, and the accelerationselection logic unit 112, described above with reference to FIG. 1. Theprocessor 212 may be embodied as any type of processor capable ofperforming the functions described herein (e.g., executing theapplication 114). For example, the processor 212 may be embodied as amulti-core processor(s), a microcontroller, or other processor orprocessing/controlling circuit. In some embodiments, the processor 212may be embodied as, include, or be coupled to an FPGA, an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC), reconfigurable hardware or hardwarecircuitry, or other specialized hardware to facilitate performance ofthe functions described herein.

The main memory 214 may be embodied as any type of volatile (e.g.,dynamic random access memory (DRAM), etc.) or non-volatile memory ordata storage capable of performing the functions described herein.Volatile memory may be a storage medium that requires power to maintainthe state of data stored by the medium. Non-limiting examples ofvolatile memory may include various types of random access memory (RAM),such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM) or static random accessmemory (SRAM). One particular type of DRAM that may be used in a memorymodule is synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM). Inparticular embodiments, DRAM of a memory component may comply with astandard promulgated by JEDEC, such as JESD79F for DDR SDRAM, JESD79-2Ffor DDR2 SDRAM, JESD79-3F for DDR3 SDRAM, JESD79-4A for DDR4 SDRAM,JESD209 for Low Power DDR (LPDDR), JESD209-2 for LPDDR2, JESD209-3 forLPDDR3, and JESD209-4 for LPDDR4. Such standards (and similar standards)may be referred to as DDR-based standards and communication interfacesof the storage devices that implement such standards may be referred toas DDR-based interfaces.

In one embodiment, the memory device is a block addressable memorydevice, such as those based on NAND or NOR technologies. A memory devicemay also include a three dimensional crosspoint memory device (e.g.,Intel 3D XPoint™ memory), or other byte addressable write-in-placenonvolatile memory devices. In one embodiment, the memory device may beor may include memory devices that use chalcogenide glass,multi-threshold level NAND flash memory, NOR flash memory, single ormulti-level Phase Change Memory (PCM), a resistive memory, nanowirememory, ferroelectric transistor random access memory (FeTRAM),anti-ferroelectric memory, magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM)memory that incorporates memristor technology, resistive memoryincluding the metal oxide base, the oxygen vacancy base and theconductive bridge Random Access Memory (CB-RAM), or spin transfer torque(STT)-MRAM, a spintronic magnetic junction memory based device, amagnetic tunneling junction (MTJ) based device, a DW (Domain Wall) andSOT (Spin Orbit Transfer) based device, a thyristor based memory device,or a combination of any of the above, or other memory. The memory devicemay refer to the die itself and/or to a packaged memory product.

In some embodiments, 3D crosspoint memory (e.g., Intel 3D XPoint™memory) may comprise a transistor-less stackable cross pointarchitecture in which memory cells sit at the intersection of word linesand bit lines and are individually addressable and in which bit storageis based on a change in bulk resistance. In some embodiments, all or aportion of the main memory 214 may be integrated into the processor 212.In operation, the main memory 214 may store various software and dataused during operation such as one or more applications (the application114), data operated on by the application(s), libraries, and drivers.

The compute engine 210 is communicatively coupled to other components ofthe client compute device 110 via the I/O subsystem 216, which may beembodied as circuitry and/or components to facilitate input/outputoperations with the compute engine 210 (e.g., with the processor 212and/or the main memory 214) and other components of the client computedevice 110. For example, the I/O subsystem 216 may be embodied as, orotherwise include, memory controller hubs, input/output control hubs,integrated sensor hubs, firmware devices, communication links (e.g.,point-to-point links, bus links, wires, cables, light guides, printedcircuit board traces, etc.), and/or other components and subsystems tofacilitate the input/output operations. In some embodiments, the I/Osubsystem 216 may form a portion of a system-on-a-chip (SoC) and beincorporated, along with one or more of the processor 212, the mainmemory 214, and other components of the client compute device 110, intothe compute engine 210.

The communication circuitry 218 may be embodied as any communicationcircuit, device, or collection thereof, capable of enablingcommunications over a network between the client compute device 110 andanother compute device (e.g., the edge gateway device 130, the edgeresources 150, 152, 154, etc.). The communication circuitry 218 may beconfigured to use any one or more communication technology (e.g., wiredor wireless communications) and associated protocols (e.g., a cellularnetworking protocol, Wi-Fi®, WiMAX, Ethernet, Bluetooth®, etc.) toeffect such communication.

The illustrative communication circuitry 218 includes a networkinterface controller (NIC) 220, which may also be referred to as a hostfabric interface (HFI). The NIC 220 may be embodied as one or moreadd-in-boards, daughter cards, network interface cards, controllerchips, chipsets, or other devices that may be used by the client computedevice 110 to connect with another compute device (e.g., the edgegateway device 130, the edge resources 150, 152, 154, etc.). In someembodiments, the NIC 220 may be embodied as part of a system-on-a-chip(SoC) that includes one or more processors, or included on a multichippackage that also contains one or more processors. In some embodiments,the NIC 220 may include a local processor (not shown) and/or a localmemory (not shown) that are both local to the NIC 220. In suchembodiments, the local processor of the NIC 220 may be capable ofperforming one or more of the functions of the compute engine 210described herein. Additionally or alternatively, in such embodiments,the local memory of the NIC 220 may be integrated into one or morecomponents of the client compute device 110 at the board level, socketlevel, chip level, and/or other levels.

The one or more illustrative data storage devices 222 may be embodied asany type of devices configured for short-term or long-term storage ofdata such as, for example, memory devices and circuits, memory cards,hard disk drives, solid-state drives, or other data storage devices.Each data storage device 222 may include a system partition that storesdata and firmware code for the data storage device 222. Each datastorage device 222 may also include one or more operating systempartitions that store data files and executables for operating systems.

Each accelerator device(s) 224 may be embodied as any device(s) orcircuitries configured to execute a set of operations faster than theprocessor 212 is capable of executing the operations. The acceleratordevice(s) 224 may include one or more field programmable gate arrays(FPGAs) 230, each of which may be embodied as a set (e.g., a matrix) oflogic gates that can be configured to perform a set of operationsaccording to a defined configuration (e.g., a bit stream). Theaccelerator device(s) 224 may additionally or alternatively include anartificial intelligence accelerator 232, which may be embodied as whichmay be embodied as any device or circuitry (e.g., a programmable logicchip, a processor, etc.) configured to perform artificial intelligencerelated operations (e.g., matrix multiplication, vector operations,machine learning training operations, machine learning inferenceoperations, etc.). Additionally or alternatively, the acceleratordevice(s) 224 may include a cryptography accelerator 234, which may beembodied, which may be embodied as any device or circuitry (e.g., aprogrammable logic chip, a processor, etc.) configured to performoperations related to cryptographic operations (e.g., data encryption,data decryption, identity authentication, etc.). Additionally oralternatively the accelerator device(s) 224 may include other types ofdevices, such as one or more application specific integrated circuits(ASICs).

The edge resources 150, 152, 154 (e.g., the compute devices 160, 162,164, 166, 168, 170), the edge gateway device 130, the fog nodes 180, andthe core data center 190 may have components similar to those describedin FIG. 2 with reference to the client compute device 110. Thedescription of those components of the client compute device 110 isequally applicable to the description of components of the edgeresources 150, 152, 154 (e.g., the compute devices 160, 162, 164, 166,168, 170), the edge gateway device 130, the fog nodes 180, and the coredata center 190, with the exception that, in some embodiments, theacceleration selection logic unit 112 is not included in devices otherthan the client compute device 110. Further, it should be appreciatedthat any of the edge resources 150, 152, 154 (e.g., the compute devices160, 162, 164, 166, 168, 170), the edge gateway device 130, the fognodes 180, and the core data center 190 may include other components,sub-components, and devices commonly found in a computing device, whichare not discussed above in reference to the client compute device 110and not discussed herein for clarity of the description. Further, itshould be understood that one or more components of a compute device maybe distributed across any distance, and are not necessarily housed inthe same physical unit.

The client compute device 110, edge resources 150, 152, 154 (e.g., thecompute devices 160, 162, 164, 166, 168, 170), the edge gateway device130, the fog nodes 180, and the core data center 190 are illustrativelyin communication via a network, which may be embodied as any type ofwired or wireless communication network, including global networks(e.g., the Internet), local area networks (LANs) or wide area networks(WANs), an edge network, a fog network, cellular networks (e.g., GlobalSystem for Mobile Communications (GSM), 3G, Long Term Evolution (LTE),Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), etc.), a radioaccess network (RAN), digital subscriber line (DSL) networks, cablenetworks (e.g., coaxial networks, fiber networks, etc.), or anycombination thereof.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the client compute device 110, in operation,may execute a method 300 for performing dynamic selection of edge andlocal accelerator resources (e.g., to accelerate one or more functions116 of the application 114). The method 300 begins with block 302 inwhich the client compute device 110 determines whether to enableacceleration selection. In doing so, the client compute device 110 maydetermine to enable dynamic selection of edge and local acceleratorresources in response to a determination that the client compute device110 is equipped with the acceleration selection logic unit 112. In otherembodiments, the client compute device 110 may make the determinationbased on other factors. Regardless, in response to a determination toenable dynamic selection of edge and local accelerator resources, themethod 300 advances to block 304, in which the client compute device 110identifies a function of an application (e.g., the application 114) tobe accelerated (e.g., executed by an accelerator resource). In doing so,the client compute device 110 may obtain an acceleration request from anapplication (e.g., the application 114) executed by the client computedevice 110, as indicated in block 306. For example, and as indicated inblock 308, the client compute device 110 may receive an applicationprogramming interface (API) call to accelerate a function 116.

Still referring to FIG. 3, the client compute device 110 subsequentlydetermines accelerator resources available at the edge, as indicated inblock 310. In doing so, the client compute device 110 may query a devicelocated at the edge for a list of available accelerator resources, asindicated in block 312. For example, and as indicated in block 314, theclient compute device 110 may query the edge gateway device 130 for alist of available accelerator resources (e.g., accelerator devices 224included in the compute devices 160, 162, 164, 166, 168, 170). Asindicated in block 316, the client compute device 110 additionallydetermines properties of the accelerator resources available at the edge(e.g., the accelerator resources determined in block 310). In doing so,and as indicated in block 318, the client compute device 110 may query adevice located at the edge (e.g., the edge gateway device 130) forproperties of the accelerator resources (e.g., one or more acceleratordevices 224 of the compute devices 160, 162, 164, 166, 168, 170) thatare available. In determining, the properties, the client compute device110 may determine a power usage (e.g., Watts per unit of time) of eachaccelerator resource, as indicated in block 320. Additionally oralternatively, the client compute device 110 may determine a latency foreach accelerator resource, as indicated in block 322. In doing so, theclient compute device 110 may determine the latency as a function of theaccelerator resource type (e.g., the architecture, the instruction setsupported, and/or other features that may enable the accelerator deviceto perform a particular type of function, such as a machine-learningfunction, a cryptographic function, etc. faster than another type offunction) and the type of the function 116 to be accelerated, asindicated in block 324. As indicated in block 326, the client computedevice 110 may determine an estimated latency due to a present load onthe accelerator resource (e.g., a theoretical latency based on a numberof operations per second that the accelerator resource is capable ofperforming, plus a delay due to an amount of operations per second thatthe accelerator resource is presently performing to execute anotherfunction). Additionally, the client compute device 110 may determine theestimated latency based on congestion on a communication path to theaccelerator resource (e.g., add a time period for data to be sent to theaccelerator resource through the network and for output data from theaccelerator resource to be sent back to the client compute device 110),as indicated in block 328. The client compute device 110 mayadditionally determine a monetary cost to utilize each acceleratorresource (e.g., a price per operation or per unit of time that may beset by an owner or operator of the accelerator resource, such as aservice provider 140, 142, 144), as indicated in block 330. Further, theclient compute device 110 may determine security features available foreach accelerator resource, as indicated in block 332. For example, anaccelerator resource may be capable of executing a function in a secureexecution environment and/or offer other security features, such asIntel Quick Assist technology (QAT), Intel Security and ManageabilityEngine (CSME), a Trusted Platform Module (TPM), security modes such asvirtualization, SGX, ARM TrustZone, and the like.

Subsequently, the method 300 advances to block 334 of FIG. 4, in whichthe client compute device 110 determines properties of the acceleratorresources (e.g., accelerator devices 224) available in the clientcompute device 110. In doing so, the client compute device 110 maydetermine a power usage of each accelerator resource (e.g., by analyzinga log file of power usage of the accelerator resource over time), asindicated in block 336. Additionally or alternatively, the clientcompute device 110 may determine a latency for each accelerator resource(e.g., each accelerator device 224), as indicated in block 338. In doingso, and as indicated in block 340, the client compute device 110 maydetermine the latency as a function of the accelerator resource type andthe type of the function to be executed, similar to block 324 of FIG. 3.As indicated in block 342, the client compute device 110 mayadditionally determine an estimated latency due a present load on theaccelerator resource, similar to the estimation performed in block 326of FIG. 4. Additionally, the client compute device 110 may determine amonetary cost to utilize each accelerator resource (e.g., eachaccelerator device 224), as indicated in block 344. In the illustrativeembodiment, the client compute device 110 may set the monetary cost inan inverse relationship to an amount of stored energy (e.g., in abattery) that is available to the client compute device 110 (e.g., thelower the amount of stored energy, the higher the monetary cost). Asindicated in block 346, the client compute device 110 may determinesecurity features available for each local accelerator resource, similarto block 332. However, in doing so, the client compute device 110 mayaccount for the fact that the client compute device 110 is notintegrated into the infrastructure of any of the service providers 140,142, 144 and, as such, may provide security even without specificsecurity-related hardware.

Subsequently, and as indicated in block 348, the client compute device110 determines acceleration selection factors associated with thefunction 116. The acceleration selection factors are indicative of oneor more objectives to be satisfied (e.g., met) in the acceleration ofthe function 116. In doing so, and as indicated in block 350, the clientcompute device 110 may determine the acceleration selection factorsbased on a service level agreement (SLA) associated with the application114 (e.g., a set of terms that define a quality of service, such as alatency, a cost, security features, etc. to be provided to a customerfor whom the application 114 is being executed). As indicated in block352, the client compute device 110 may determine acceleration selectionfactors as a function of a present status of the client compute device110. For example, and as indicated in block 354, the client computedevice 110 may determine a present amount of energy available in abattery of the client compute device 110 (e.g., in which case, thetarget power usage may be relatively low). As another example, theclient compute device 110 may determine a present quality ofconnectivity to the edge (e.g., to the resources 150, 152, 154), asindicated in block 356. In doing so, in the illustrative embodiment, theclient compute device 110 may determine a strength of a wireless signalto one or more devices 130, 160, 162, 164, 166, 168, 170 at the edge.With a lower quality connection (e.g., a weak, low bandwidth wirelesssignal), the client compute device 110 may prioritize (e.g., set aweight in favor of) performing the acceleration on the client computedevice 110 rather than risking incurring additional latency due todropped or delayed output from an accelerator resource at the edge. Theclient compute device 110 may determine a target power usage, asindicated in block 360, a target latency, as indicated in block 362, atarget monetary cost, as indicated in block 364, and/or one or moretarget security features, as indicated in block 366. Subsequently, themethod 300 advances to block 368 of FIG. 5, in which the client computedevice 110 selects, as a function of the properties of the acceleratorresources available at the edge (e.g., from block 316 of FIG. 3), theproperties of the local accelerator resources (e.g., the acceleratordevices 224 of the client compute device 110, determined in block 334 ofFIG. 4), and the accelerator selection factor(s) (e.g., from block 348of FIG. 4), one or more accelerator resources to accelerate (e.g.,execute) the function 116.

Referring now to FIG. 5, in selecting one or more accelerator resourcesto accelerate the function 116, the client compute device 110, in theillustrative embodiment, selects the accelerator resource(s) thatprovide the greatest degree of satisfaction of the accelerator selectionfactors (e.g., if the accelerator selection factor is to prioritizelatency, the client compute device 110 selects the fastest acceleratorresource (e.g., lowest latency)), as indicated in block 370. In doingso, the client compute device 110 may determine a Pareto-efficientselection of accelerator resource(s), as indicated in block 372. Inother words, the client compute device 110 may determine a state ofallocation of resources (e.g., selection of accelerator resource(s))from which it is impossible to reallocate so as to make any onepreference criterion (e.g., an accelerator selection factor) better offwithout making at least one other preference criterion (e.g., anotheraccelerator selection factor) worse off. In some embodiments, the clientcompute device 110, in making the selection, may prioritize securityover latency (e.g., if the function cannot be performed with a certainsecurity feature on a faster accelerator resource, the client computedevice 110 may select a slower accelerator resource where the securityfeature is available), as indicated in block 374. In some embodiments,the client compute device 110 may select multiple accelerator resourcesfor concurrent acceleration of the function 116 (e.g., by splitting thefunction 116 into multiple parts to be executed simultaneously), asindicated in block 376.

As indicated in block 378, the client compute device 110 subsequentlyprovides the function 116 to the selected accelerator resource(s) foracceleration. In doing so, and as indicated in block 380, the clientcompute device 110 may provide, to the selected accelerator resource(s),code (e.g., executable code, a bitstream, etc.) indicative of (e.g.,defining) the function 116, as indicated in block 380. For example, andas indicated in block 382, the client compute device 110 may provide thecode to accelerator resource(s) (e.g., one or more accelerator devices224 of the compute devices 160, 162, 164, 166, 168, 170) at the edgethrough a network connection (e.g., through a wireless networkconnection). Additionally or alternatively, the client compute device110 may provide the code to accelerator resource(s) of the clientcompute device 110 (e.g., one or more accelerator devices 224 of theclient compute device 110) through a local bus (e.g., PeripheralComponent Interconnect express (PCIe), etc.), as indicated in block 384.The client compute device 110 may additionally provide, to the selectedaccelerator resource(s), input data (e.g., sensor data, image data,etc.) to be operated on (e.g., to perform the function 116 on), asindicated in block 386. Subsequently, the client compute device 110 mayreceive output data from the selected accelerator resource(s) (e.g.,data resulting from acceleration of the function 116 by the selectedaccelerator resource(s)), such as a name or other identifier of anobject represented in the input data, a decision on how to control avehicle (e.g., stop the vehicle) in which the client compute device 110is located, etc. Subsequently, the method 300 loops back to block 304 ofFIG. 3, in which the client compute device 110 potentially identifiesanother function 116 to be accelerated.

Referring briefly to FIG. 6, a MEC and fog network topology 600 isshown. The network topology 600 includes endpoints (at anendpoints/things network layer 650), gateways (at a gateway layer 640),access or edge computing nodes (e.g., at neighborhood nodes layer 630),core network or routers (e.g., at a regional or central office layer620), and internet/cloud servers at a global layer 610. A fog network(e.g., established at the gateway layer 640) may represent a densegeographical distribution of near-user edge devices (e.g., fog nodes),equipped with storage capabilities (e.g., to avoid the need to storedata in cloud data centers), communication capabilities (e.g., ratherthan routed over an internet backbone), control capabilities,configuration capabilities, measurement and management capabilities(rather than controlled primarily by network gateways such as those inan LTE core network), among others. In this context, FIG. 6 illustratesa general architecture that integrates a number of MEC and fognodes—categorized in different layers (based on their position,connectivity and processing capabilities, etc.). It will be understood,however, that such fog nodes may be replaced or augmented by edgecomputing processing nodes.

Fog nodes may be categorized depending on the topology and the layerwhere they are located. In contrast, from a MEC standard perspective,each fog node may be considered as a mobile edge (ME) Host, or a simpleentity hosting a ME app and a light-weighted ME Platform. In an example,a MEC or fog node may be defined as an application instance, connectedto or running on a device (ME Host) that is hosting a ME Platform. Assuch, the application may consume MEC services and be associated to a MEHost in the system. The nodes may be migrated, associated to differentME Hosts, or consume MEC services from other (e.g., local or remote) MEplatforms.

In contrast to using the edge, as described above, a traditionalapplication may rely on remote cloud data storage and processing toexchange and coordinate information. A cloud data arrangement allows forlong-term data collection and storage, but is not optimal for highlytime varying data and may fail in attempting to meet latency challenges(e.g., stopping a vehicle when a child runs into the street). The use ofthe edge resources as described above enable providing services (e.g.,execution of functions) in a low-latency manner, and, in someembodiments, may utilize features in existing MEC services that provideminimal overhead.

EXAMPLES

Illustrative examples of the technologies disclosed herein are providedbelow. An embodiment of the technologies may include any one or more,and any combination of, the examples described below.

Example 1 includes a device comprising circuitry to identify a functionof an application to be accelerated; determine one or more properties ofan accelerator resource available at the edge of a network where thedevice is located; determine one or more properties of an acceleratorresource available in the device; determine a set of accelerationselection factors associated with the function, wherein the accelerationfactors are indicative of one or more objectives to be satisfied in theacceleration of the function; and select, as a function of the one ormore properties of the accelerator resource available at the edge, theone or more properties of the accelerator resource available in thedevice, and the acceleration selection factors, one or more of theaccelerator resources to accelerate the function.

Example 2 includes the subject matter of Example 1, and wherein thecircuitry is further to provide, to the one or more selected acceleratorresources, the function.

Example 3 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1 and 2, andwherein to determine one or more properties of an accelerator resourceavailable at the edge comprises to determine a power usage of theaccelerator resource.

Example 4 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-3, andwherein to determine one or more properties of an accelerator resourceavailable at the edge comprises to determine a latency of theaccelerator resource.

Example 5 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-4, andwherein to determine the latency comprises to determine the latency as afunction of a type of the accelerator resource and a type of thefunction to be accelerated.

Example 6 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-5, andwherein to determine the latency comprises to determine the latency as afunction of a present load on the accelerator device.

Example 7 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-6, andwherein to determine the latency comprises to determine the latency as afunction of an amount of congestion on a communication path to theaccelerator resource.

Example 8 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-7, andwherein to determine one or more properties of an accelerator resourceavailable at the edge comprises to determine a monetary cost to utilizethe accelerator resource.

Example 9 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-8, andwherein to determine one or more properties of an accelerator resourceavailable at the edge comprises to determine one or more securityfeatures of the accelerator resource.

Example 10 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-9, andwherein to determine one or more properties of an accelerator resourceof the device comprises to determine at least one of a power usage ofthe accelerator resource, a latency for the accelerator resource, amonetary cost to utilize the accelerator resource, or a security featureof the accelerator resource.

Example 11 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-10, andwherein to determine a set of acceleration selection factors comprisesto determine the set of acceleration factors from a service levelagreement (SLA) associated with the application.

Example 12 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-11, andwherein to determine a set of acceleration selection factors comprisesto determine the set of acceleration factors as a function of a presentstatus of the device.

Example 13 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-12, andwherein to determine a set of acceleration selection factors as afunction of a present status of the device comprises to determine apresent amount of energy available in a battery of the device.

Example 14 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-13, andwherein to determine a set of acceleration selection factors as afunction of a present status of the device comprises to determine astrength of a wireless signal to a device at the edge.

Example 15 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-14, andwherein to determine a set of acceleration selection factors comprisesto determine at least one of a target power usage, a target latency, atarget monetary cost, and a target security feature.

Example 16 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-15, andwherein to select one or more of the accelerator resources to acceleratethe function comprises to select multiple accelerator resources toaccelerate the function concurrently.

Example 17 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-16, andwherein to identify the function to be accelerated comprises to receivean application programming interface (API) call from the application toaccelerate the function.

Example 18 includes a method comprising identifying, by a device, afunction of an application to be accelerated; determining, by thedevice, one or more properties of an accelerator resource available atthe edge of a network where the device is located; determining, by thedevice, one or more properties of an accelerator resource available inthe device; determining, by the device, a set of acceleration selectionfactors associated with the function, wherein the acceleration factorsare indicative of one or more objectives to be satisfied in theacceleration of the function; and selecting, by the device and as afunction of the one or more properties of the accelerator resourceavailable at the edge, the one or more properties of the acceleratorresource available in the device, and the acceleration selectionfactors, one or more of the accelerator resources to accelerate thefunction.

Example 19 includes the subject matter of Example 18, and furtherincluding providing, by the device and to the one or more selectedaccelerator resources, the function.

Example 20 includes one or more machine-readable storage mediacomprising a plurality of instructions stored thereon that, in responseto being executed, cause a device to identify a function of anapplication to be accelerated; determine one or more properties of anaccelerator resource available at the edge of a network where the deviceis located; determine one or more properties of an accelerator resourceavailable in the device; determine a set of acceleration selectionfactors associated with the function, wherein the acceleration factorsare indicative of one or more objectives to be satisfied in theacceleration of the function; and select, as a function of the one ormore properties of the accelerator resource available at the edge, theone or more properties of the accelerator resource available in thedevice, and the acceleration selection factors, one or more of theaccelerator resources to accelerate the function.

Example 21 includes one or more machine-readable storage mediacomprising a plurality of instructions stored thereon that, after beingprepared for execution, cause a device that executes the preparedinstructions to identify a function of an application to be accelerated;determine one or more properties of an accelerator resource available atthe edge of a network where the device is located; determine one or moreproperties of an accelerator resource available in the device; determinea set of acceleration selection factors associated with the function,wherein the acceleration factors are indicative of one or moreobjectives to be satisfied in the acceleration of the function; andselect, as a function of the one or more properties of the acceleratorresource available at the edge, the one or more properties of theaccelerator resource available in the device, and the accelerationselection factors, one or more of the accelerator resources toaccelerate the function.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device comprising: circuitry to: identify afunction of an application to be accelerated; determine one or moreproperties of an accelerator resource available at the edge of a networkwhere the device is located; determine one or more properties of anaccelerator resource available in the device; determine a set ofacceleration selection factors associated with the function, wherein theacceleration factors are indicative of one or more objectives to besatisfied in the acceleration of the function; and select, as a functionof the one or more properties of the accelerator resource available atthe edge, the one or more properties of the accelerator resourceavailable in the device, and the acceleration selection factors, one ormore of the accelerator resources to accelerate the function.
 2. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further to provide, to theone or more selected accelerator resources, the function.
 3. The deviceof claim 1, wherein to determine one or more properties of anaccelerator resource available at the edge comprises to determine apower usage of the accelerator resource.
 4. The device of claim 1,wherein to determine one or more properties of an accelerator resourceavailable at the edge comprises to determine a latency of theaccelerator resource.
 5. The device of claim 4, wherein to determine thelatency comprises to determine the latency as a function of a type ofthe accelerator resource and a type of the function to be accelerated.6. The device of claim 4, wherein to determine the latency comprises todetermine the latency as a function of a present load on the acceleratordevice.
 7. The device of claim 4, wherein to determine the latencycomprises to determine the latency as a function of an amount ofcongestion on a communication path to the accelerator resource.
 8. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein to determine one or more properties of anaccelerator resource available at the edge comprises to determine amonetary cost to utilize the accelerator resource.
 9. The device ofclaim 1, wherein to determine one or more properties of an acceleratorresource available at the edge comprises to determine one or moresecurity features of the accelerator resource.
 10. The device of claim1, wherein to determine one or more properties of an acceleratorresource of the device comprises to determine at least one of a powerusage of the accelerator resource, a latency for the acceleratorresource, a monetary cost to utilize the accelerator resource, or asecurity feature of the accelerator resource.
 11. The device of claim 1,wherein to determine a set of acceleration selection factors comprisesto determine the set of acceleration factors from a service levelagreement (SLA) associated with the application.
 12. The device of claim1, wherein to determine a set of acceleration selection factorscomprises to determine the set of acceleration factors as a function ofa present status of the device.
 13. The device of claim 12, wherein todetermine a set of acceleration selection factors as a function of apresent status of the device comprises to determine a present amount ofenergy available in a battery of the device.
 14. The device of claim 12,wherein to determine a set of acceleration selection factors as afunction of a present status of the device comprises to determine astrength of a wireless signal to a device at the edge.
 15. The device ofclaim 1, wherein to determine a set of acceleration selection factorscomprises to determine at least one of a target power usage, a targetlatency, a target monetary cost, and a target security feature.
 16. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein to select one or more of the acceleratorresources to accelerate the function comprises to select multipleaccelerator resources to accelerate the function concurrently.
 17. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein to identify the function to be acceleratedcomprises to receive an application programming interface (API) callfrom the application to accelerate the function.
 18. A methodcomprising: identifying, by a device, a function of an application to beaccelerated; determining, by the device, one or more properties of anaccelerator resource available at the edge of a network where the deviceis located; determining, by the device, one or more properties of anaccelerator resource available in the device; determining, by thedevice, a set of acceleration selection factors associated with thefunction, wherein the acceleration factors are indicative of one or moreobjectives to be satisfied in the acceleration of the function; andselecting, by the device and as a function of the one or more propertiesof the accelerator resource available at the edge, the one or moreproperties of the accelerator resource available in the device, and theacceleration selection factors, one or more of the accelerator resourcesto accelerate the function.
 19. The method of claim 18, furthercomprising providing, by the device and to the one or more selectedaccelerator resources, the function.
 20. One or more machine-readablestorage media comprising a plurality of instructions stored thereonthat, in response to being executed, cause a device to: identify afunction of an application to be accelerated; determine one or moreproperties of an accelerator resource available at the edge of a networkwhere the device is located; determine one or more properties of anaccelerator resource available in the device; determine a set ofacceleration selection factors associated with the function, wherein theacceleration factors are indicative of one or more objectives to besatisfied in the acceleration of the function; and select, as a functionof the one or more properties of the accelerator resource available atthe edge, the one or more properties of the accelerator resourceavailable in the device, and the acceleration selection factors, one ormore of the accelerator resources to accelerate the function.